At the Stadio olimpico, the XV of Clover scored a third improved victory out of three possible, to consolidate its first place in the standings, before the meeting between Scotland (2nd, 10 points) to the Blues (4th, 5 pts), Sunday at Stade de France.
The Irish, who already had the offensive bonus point in their pocket at the break thanks to four school tries, were more than manhandled by the lively Azzurri, who managed to flatten twice.
Deprived by injury of their opener Johnny Sexton and center Garry Ringrose, the Irish played their game without overdoing it, while the Italians (5th, 1 point) proved that the progress made over the past year was not only a straw fire.
In Cardiff, the second match of the day was less spectacular, the XV of the Rose (3rd, 10 pts) certainly managing to win (20-10), but without really convincing and especially without the point of the offensive bonus.
Welshman Dafydd Jenkins grabs the ball on a sideline during the Wales-England match of the Six Nations Tournament on Saturday (February 25th) in Cardiff, Wales.
© Paul ELLIS / AFP
This match almost definitively sealed the fate of Leek's XV, dead last with zero points on the clock, who will travel to Rome the next day for a meeting that will decide the wooden spoon.
SATURDAY:
Italy - Ireland (good) 20 - 34
Wales - England 10 - 20
Sunday February 26:
(4:00 p.m.) France - Scotland
Ranking: Pts JGNP pp pc dif Good
1. Ireland 15 3 3 0 0 100 49 51 3
2. Scotland 10 2 2 0 0 64 30 34 2
3. England 10 3 2 0 1 74 53 21 2
4. France 5 2 1 0 1 48 56 -8 1
5. Italy 1 3 0 0 3 58 94 -36 1
6. Wales 0 3 0 0 3 27 89 -62 0
Editor's note: Victory = 4 pts;
draw = 2 pts;
defeat = 0pt;
1 bonus point for 4 tries or more, 1 bonus point for a loss of 7 points or less;
3 bonus points for the Grand Slam (five wins).
The tied nations are decided by the difference in general points, then the number of tries scored over all the matches.
If there is still a tie, they are tied.
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© 2023 AFP